Synergy Spotlight: Meet Rebekah Novak, Community Specialist
Rebekah Novak is her name and wastewater is her game, among several other skills and subject interests. Rebekah has a versatile background; she’s worked in several municipal surveying, engineering, and wastewater operations roles – making her an extremely valuable addition to the Community & Environmental Resources team at RCAP Solutions.
She began her career as an intern for the city of New Bedford, Massachusetts’ engineering department, eventually becoming a full-time employee and earning the title of Municipal Surveyor. During her time with the city of New Bedford, Rebekah was responsible for transferring paper maps into digital GIS (Geographic Information System) versions. She also worked in the field overseeing road reconstruction and improvement projects.
Two of Rebekah’s passions are learning and helping. While she was working as a surveyor, Rebekah continued to expand her knowledge, pursuing her wastewater operator’s license and eventually earning a grade 5 license. Rebekah had always been fascinated with water re-use and environmental sustainability. Turning wastewater into treated effluent (sewage that has been cleaned and discharged back into the environment) is a necessary process for communities of all sizes, and this process piqued Rebekah’s interest.
After working as an associate engineer for several years, Rebekah eventually dived head-first into wastewater (not literally), first working at the Ashfield Wastewater Treatment Plant, a few years later at the city of Northampton, Massachusetts’ Wastewater Treatment Plant, and later at Green Wastewater Solutions as an operator/installer of Orenco wastewater treatment systems.
Rebekah prided herself in being a female who was tackling these surveying, engineering, and wastewater roles – as the fields are often male-dominated. It was difficult, but her determination and drive helped her excel in these fields. “Being a woman straight out of college was super intimidating,” she said, “but I still did it. I still showed up and did my best.”
Rebekah eventually joined RCAP Solutions in 2019, where she works with small communities in Massachusetts, providing technical assistance and training to help them improve both their wastewater and drinking water operations. Rebekah lives in a small, rural community herself, so she recognizes the struggles that these communities face when it comes to limited resources and not knowing the answer to everything. Advice she gives to the communities she serves – as well as her co-workers – is to embrace trial-and-error, “Get comfortable with not knowing exactly what to do, it’s okay not to know. [You have to] jump in the muddy water and figure out how to do it.”
During the pandemic, Rebekah was instrumental in transitioning in-person trainings and workshops into a virtual format. She embraced new software and became a leader for her colleagues, constantly offering them support and assistance with the new technology. In addition to managing numerous training events, she also has anywhere from 10 to 13 of the aforementioned technical assistance projects active at a time.
Rebekah’s contributions were noted by Jim Starbard, Regional Director (MA/CT/RI), who said, “Rebekah is an exceptional team member who goes the extra mile for the communities she works with. She is highly skilled in wastewater – both centralized and decentralized, GIS, and is a great trainer. Rebekah’s contributions to the Southern New England Team and RCAP Solutions as a whole are greatly appreciated and highly regarded.”
In addition, Rebekah is passionate about many causes including local farming, sourcing food locally and humanely, and supporting small businesses. She has experience volunteering at a homeless shelter and during her free time enjoys gardening, arts and crafts, and spending time with her husband, two cats, and “Hoss” – her 180-pound Neapolitan Mastiff-Great Dane mix.
Andrew Evans, fellow Community Specialist, added, “Rebekah’s organizational capability, attitude, and attention to detail makes her one of my favorite people to work with. Whatever the project or training she is always seeking the best product or outcome possible for our clients. The way she approaches her work has helped me be a better technical assistance provider and trainer.”
Fun Facts About Rebekah:
- Hometown: Conway, Massachusetts
- Favorite Book: Harry Potter series by series by J. K. Rowling
- Favorite Movie: Tremors directed by Ron Underwood
- Favorite Hobbies: Gardening (flowers & vegetables), arts & crafts (dot art painting, jewelry making)
- Place She’d Like to Travel to: Alaska